UM Partners with DOE to Provide Financial Aid Shopping Sheet to Prospective Students

Coral Gables (November 26, 2012) —
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama outlined the steps that his administration is taking to make college more affordable and to ensure that students “know before they owe.”

In July, as part of that ongoing effort, the administration unveiled the final version of the model financial aid award letter, or Shopping Sheet—an individualized standard financial aid letter that will help students understand their costs before making the final decision on where to enroll. The sheet will allow students to easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions.

Now the University of Miami is one of the more than 200 colleges and universities that have agreed to adopt the Shopping Sheet.

“The University of Miami is proud to partner with President Obama, the Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to provide prospective students access to the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet beginning with the 2013-14 academic year,” said UM President Donna E. Shalala. “This valuable tool will allow students to easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions and will help them understand their costs before making the final decision on where to enroll.”

The Shopping Sheet makes clear the costs and responsibilities of student loans upfront (before students have enrolled), outlining their total estimated annual costs, institutional rates of completion and default, and information about potential monthly loan payments after graduation. Ultimately, this tool provides students and their families with useful information that can help them make a more informed decision about where to attend college. It also helps students to better understand the debt burdens they may face after graduation. To develop the Shopping Sheet, the U.S. Department of Education partnered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new independent agency established in the wake of the financial crisis.

The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of our diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world.www.miami.edu.